Royals complete insane roster overhaul in Toronto thanks to vaccine policy

Royals complete huge roster overhaul ahead of series in Toronto.

With news breaking yesterday of a whopping ten Kansas City Royals players deemed ineligible to play in the upcoming series in Toronto thanks to Canada’s COVID requirements, there was league-wide intrigue regarding who exactly the Royals would be bringing up.

This situation, as unique as it is, represents a rare instance that a big league club can take a look at a huge amount of prospects all at once.

The Royals themselves took to Twitter to announce the placements of the ten players on the restricted list and the promotions of eight prospects in their place. The club is unable to replace Singer or Keller until Saturday and Sunday respectively, at which point it will recall two additional minor league pieces.

Here’s what we know about the Royals massive roster overhaul ahead of series in Toronto

Out:

C M.J. Melendez and Cam Gallagher, INF Whit Merrifield, OFs Hunter Dozier, Andrew Benintendi, Kyle Isbel and Michael A. Taylor and RHPs Brad Keller, Dylan Coleman and Brady Singer.

In:

C Sebastian Rivero and Freddy Fermin, INFs Maikel Garcia, Nick Pratto, Michael Massey and Nate Eaton, OF Brewer Hicklen and LHP Angel Zerpa

In Rivero, the Royals will be taking another shot at a 23-year-old backstop who has little to not bat to speak of but is a solid defender. He made his big league debut last season and has a total of seven base hits in 52 plate appearances across 20 games.

Fermin, 27, is not quite the defender that Rivero is but is a much better hitter. He strikes out far less than Rivero does and has quite a bit more pop in his bat. On the season in Triple-A, Fermin has five home runs, 27 RBI and a .242/.357/.422 line in 40 games.

Garcia, the No. 19 prospect in Kansas City’s system, is a right-handed-hitting speedster who has virtually no power in his bat but has a ton of speed on the bases and excellent defensive chops at shortstop, his primary position. He has 27 stolen bases and a .287 batting average in 74 games this season with the Royals’ Double-A affiliate.

Pratto, 23, is the No. 2 prospect in the Royals system and is the most exciting player of the bunch. A first baseman by trade who has been seeing some time in the corner outfield in the minors this season, Pratto has a ton of power in his bat and is one of the few in this group that could potentially stick in the majors after the series in Toronto, depending on how things go for him.

Massey, the No. 20 prospect for the Royals, is a left-handed-hitting second baseman who can occasionally fill in at third. He has some decent pop in his bat (21 home runs last year) and has some wheels as well. This season between Double-A and Triple-A, he has 15 home runs and a jaw-dropping 74 RBI in 78 games as well as a combined .317 batting average.

Eaton, 25, is a highly versatile piece who can hit for power, steal some bases, and line up all over the field on defense. He has 76 games under his belt this season split between two minor league levels and has 13 home runs, 44 RBI, 19 stolen bases and a .301 batting average. On defense, Eaton has made appearances this season at third, shortstop and all three outfield positions.

Hicklen, 26, is yet another toolsy player in this Royals system that does a little bit of everything. He has some pop in his bat and steals a ton of bases as well, all while playing stellar outfield defense at all three spots on the grass. This will be the second taste of big league action for Hicklen, who received a two-at-bat cameo earlier this season.

Finally, Zerpa, the No. 11 prospect for the Royals, will be getting another shot in the big leagues after making two appearances and pitching seven innings of scoreless ball. The 22-year old southpaw is a starting pitcher who has 13 starts under his belt this season in Double-A, going 2-5 with a 4.36 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 64 innings.

Pratto, Eaton and Rivero will all start in tonight’s game while Zerpa will be the starting pitcher.